TouchDown
by YulieAna
Summary: Rukia wouldn't shut up about Renji. Ichigo is jealous and conflicted because he finally realized his feelings for her. And she seems totally clueless. Some language. Smut.


Renji. Renji. Renji. The goddamn Renji. Ever since she returned from her visit with Byakuya, that's _all_ she ever talked about. Renji _this_. Renji _that_. How she trained with Renji. How Renji visited her at her brother's house. How Renji…..

_Screw him. _Ichigo thought to himself furiously. He's just about had it with this crap.

At first it was ok. Abarai was their mutual friend so he listened to her continuous chatter, even though the more she went on the less he cared, but after Rukia told him that Renji gave her the newest addition of Chappy and saw the sparkle in her eyes, and the curve of her lips into a cute little smile, he lost it. _ARGH!_ What the hell was _wrong_ with her? No. What the hell was wrong with _him_?

Ichigo was never a jealous type. Heck, he wasn't even a romantic type. Since he met Kuchiki Rukia, his entire life became a constant roller coaster of hollow bashing, training, some more hollow bashing, and so on. He never had time for romance, he never even thought about it, like ever. Rukia was always his friend, his comrade. He never even looked at her as a girl. And what was there to look at in the first place? Rowdy attitude, flat chest, a skinny stick figure of a woman… Ichigo gave himself a mental smack. Why couldn't he be attracted to someone like Matsumoto instead? That would've justified the recent and most staggering levels of stupidity in his behavior. Matsumoto was pretty, he remembered, and she had those…things that guys went crazy about. Now _that_ was a woman worth looking at. But nooooo, instead of falling for someone like that, it had to be Kuchiki Rukia.

Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. And what was worse, while his insides twisted and his mind imagined all kinds of weird things when being around her, _she_ didn't seem to be affected at all!

It all started about two months ago when she came to freeload at his house, again. At first it was just like the old times. But instead of living in his closet, now she had her own room. Since when did freeloaders have their own rooms? Yet, Ichigo did not give it much thought and, in fact, decided it was better that way because now he wouldn't be falling off his bed every time she slammed the closet door in the middle of the night.

They continued like this for a while until something unspeakable happened. He found a bra in his underwear drawer. A bra. It wasn't his sisters', that much was certain. Not that he ever wondered if his sisters wore bras, but strangely enough he _knew_ that _it_ belonged to _her_. At first Ichigo brushed it off as nothing. Big deal, accidents happened. Yuzu probably messed up doing the laundry. So, he, in all of his teenage awkwardness, informed her of the incident. But, to his surprise, Rukia did not throw a fit. She raised a brow in amusement, followed him to his room, took the lecherous object out of his drawer and walked out casually holding it in her hand. Ichigo's eyes never left her until the door closed. And that night, he dreamed about that treacherous entity clinging to her tiny breasts and waking up in cold sweat.

It took a lot of his Shinigami concentration to convince himself that it wasn't that big of a deal and to stop freaking out about it. A dream, it was just a dream. _Calm down, you idiot._ He chanted to himself.

She never found out, and Ichigo eventually let it rest. They continued as before with nothing particularly significant happening between them. Rukia would waltz into his room like always, sit on his bed with her legs swinging back and forth, and grin and laugh and chat as usual. Ichigo pretended not to pay attention. She _always_ did it, why should it matter now? Until one day, strange occurrences started to happen. From the corner of his eye he would notice the short skirts she was wearing and the smooth thighs hiding under them. And when she turned her head he saw the outline of her neck, and the creamy skin that contrasted with her dark hair, her huge violet eyes when she scowled at him, her petite nose, her stubborn lips that she tended to press together whenever she was mad, and her tiny figure that was made for anything _but_ fighting hollows. How the hell did she even manage to hold a zanpakutou with those skinny fingers?

And then one time, Rukia bent over him curiously looking at what he was doing at his desk. Ichigo was about to tell her to go away, but as his head turned he stared at the V-shaped top she was wearing, exposing the skin below her collar bone. Then, without realizing it, his gaze drifted lower to the subtle cleavage of those small…_ARGH! _He did not care about romance. No, he did not.

Rukia was only a friend, she was just a friend. And genders did not matter among friends. He never thought about her this way when she used to live in his closet. So, why the hell did it start happening now all of a sudden? Sure, he liked her. Ichigo liked a lot of people, that was a known fact. Yet, truth be told, he knew that Rukia was different. They went through so much shit together, that now they knew each like no one else. And it was always _her_ who was the first to worry about him. It was always _her_ who was the first to make him feel better. It was always _her_ who understood him without having to explain himself. Always her, her, her.

And now _she_ was in his room again talking, and talking, and talking…..about…Renji…. While all he wanted to do was to cover his ears and stop, for one goddamn minute, hearing that name.

"You know, at first I thought it would be kind of boring because Brother never wants to do anything with me, but then Renji suggested that we…" her voice trailed off.

_I am not jealous, dammit. _Ichigo reminded himself over and over and over. Not. Jealous. He hovered over his homework and pretended to be concentrating. But the more she talked, the less he started to believe himself.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?"

He wearily turned his head to look at her. "What the hell are you babbling about?"

Rukia raised her nose in silent indignation. "You are being weird today." She noted matter-of-factly.

"Whatever."

Rolling her eyes, she got up and went to stand behind him. Ichigo almost felt her breath on the back of his neck.

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong with you?" she asked, "You've been kind of edgy lately."

"Nothing's wrong with me." he returned still not looking at her.

A pregnant pause passed between them before she spoke again.

"Hey, moron!"

Now he _could_ feel her breath on his neck. His hands gripped the book tighter and then, despite his efforts, despite his iron willpower, despite all of the freaking time he spent on building his restraint, the muscle below his stomach jerked to life.

"Are you sick?" Rukia asked with a hint of worry in her voice putting both hands on his shoulders and leaning forward.

_He_ tensed. _It_ clenched. _She_ was clueless.

Normally, Ichigo did not care if Rukia touched him. She always touched him, smacked him, shoved him, pushed him. She even rode on his back a couple of times, and he never really analyzed the physical aspect of their relationship. It always seemed natural for her to touch him, but right now he felt his neck burning, and his muscles stiffen, and his head roaring as her voice fluttered past his ear.

"You're such a pain." He rumbled shaking his shoulders out of her grasp. "Get outta here, can't you see I'm busy?"

Rukia snorted. "You've been staring at the same page for the past half an hour. How stupid is that?"

Ok, he's just about had it. Ichigo threw the book on the table and swiftly turned around. "You're starting to piss me off." He glared at her. "I said, get outta my room!"

Rukia momentarily drew back at his sudden outburst, and then her eye brows came together in a frown. "Fine!" She retorted, "If you want to be a jackass, do it by yourself. I'll come back later."

As soon as she left, Ichigo groaned in frustration and pressed his forehead against the cool surface of his desk. He really was an idiot, wasn't he? But, fortunately, Rukia did not seem to suspect anything, otherwise he would've been screwed. His behavior was already awkward enough after he figured out his feelings for her and his own inability to deal with these growing emotions. So, the last thing he needed was for her to find out and make fun of him.

But Rukia did not mention anything afterwards. Like always, she treated him with casual insults and soft punches when she was particularly in a good mood. And Ichigo was finally able to relax, but his peace did not last for too long. One afternoon, when he was quietly changing in his room, Rukia ran in with a boom. He was just barely able to put on his pants when he heard the door flying open, and the next thing he knew she was in front of him beaming like an idiot.

"Hey, Ichigo, I've got news!" She breathed out, grinning from ear to ear. "Brother is throwing a huge party and he invited _everyone_!"

Even though her eyes did not glaze over his exposed torso and stayed glued to his face, Ichigo suddenly felt very naked under her stare. "So?" he asked trying to hide his nervousness.

"What do you mean 'so'?" She frowned. "It's the annual ball at the Kuchiki estate. All of the captains, vice captains, and seated officers will be attending. Don't you remember last year?"

Oh yes he did. Back then he did not really pay attention to the cute pink kimono she wore, or how the flower ornaments glowed in her hair, or how her face lit up at the sight of the fireworks. A year ago Ichigo did not care. But now it was different. How would he react and what would he say to her when he saw her looking like that again? Would he be able to smile and pretend he still thought of her as a buddy? No, it was safer not to go. If he had so much trouble keeping it cool at his own house, there was no way of knowing what kind of stupidity he would subject himself to over at hers.

"That's nice." he muttered. "Have fun with that."

"Huh?" She stared at him in confusion. "What are you going on about, you idiot? You are coming too!"

"No way! Who's gonna stay here and keep an eye on the hollows?"

"Ichigo!" Rukia said impatiently. "What's with you? There was never a problem before and you were always looking forward to it. Last year you even said that you liked it!"

"So what?" He argued. "Things change. I'm not even a real Shinigami. It's not like it's my job to go to your stupid parties."

Suddenly, he felt her grip on his arms, and a moment later found himself face-to-face with her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She demanded, "You've been acting really weird for the past week. Did something happen?"

His gaze moved from her eyes, to her nose, finally stopping on her lips. And, to his greatest astonishment, a pink little tongue peeked outside and hastily wetted them.

Thump.

Something clenched again.

"Let go!" he snapped, "Nothing's wrong. I just don't feel like going this year."

"I don't believe you." She said, "You've been a total jerk for no reason. And now you suddenly bail on the event that you always liked before."

"It's not my freaken job to attend your parties." His eyes met hers, realizing that she would get hurt by what he was about to tell her. "I did it before because you wouldn't stop nagging, and it was annoying so I agreed. But this year I've got better things to do." he paused. "You didn't actually think I _enjoy_ it, did you?"

"Ichigo…" Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at him speechless.

He waited for a clever retort, for her to at least yell at him, for _something_ to get that look off of her face. But nothing happened.

Rukia's arms dropped as she silently turned around and headed for the door. Her shoulders sunk, he noticed, her arms hung limply at her sides, but her silence made him feel even worse. Of all the insensitive, rude, obnoxious bastards he had to be the one to top them all.

She was leaving, just a few more steps and she would be out of the door. Ichigo watched her, his heart beating violently, imagining all kinds of possibilities and things that went through her head. And then he moved.

Rukia grasped the door handle and pulled, but before it opened, a powerful thrust pushed it back closing it with a thud.

They stood, him behind her, watching and waiting for her to respond to this sudden reaction.

"Let me go." Rukia said quietly. "Haven't you already done enough?"

One, two, three… seconds ticked into the silence.

Then, she grabbed the handle again and jerked it towards her. "I said 'let me go', dumbass!" she yelled in frustration.

But Ichigo's hand remained fixed on the door without letting it budge. Realizing that she couldn't win against his strength, Rukia finally let it go and stepped away in defeat.

"You stupid idiot…" she whispered without turning around.

He noticed a tiny spasm in her voice and slightly tilted his head to look at her. Rukia was biting her lip in nervous apprehension silently waiting for him to reply. But he couldn't come up with anything worthy to say. Maybe he should've apologized to make himself seem less of an ass. Maybe he should've reassured her that he didn't really mean what he said, that he was an idiot and he actually wanted to go to her dumb party. But his voice abruptly got caught in his throat as he tried to scramble what was left of his courage to face her.

They stood for a few agonizing heartbeats until he finally raised his hand and brought it on her shoulder. "Rukia…I…." He broke off as the words suddenly left him.

Rukia finally drew out a lengthy sigh and slowly turned around.

"You really are an idiot, you know." She stated.

Ichigo was motionless, unsure of what to say. Under normal circumstances he would've yelled back at her, called her names, sneered, come up with any kind of stupidity appropriate for their usual verbal skirmishes. But right now he was afraid that if he stepped over the line, if he said anything unnecessary, she would find another way out, even jump through the window if she had to.

"Such an idiot…" Rukia exhaled against his chest.

Her warm breath tingled his skin making him shiver as a sudden pang below his groin brought his body to awareness. The hand still grasping her shoulder tightened, reflexively drawing her close, and Rukia gave out a tiny yelp of surprise before her palms swiftly found themselves on his chest. The sensation of her hands on his skin set his face on fire making the muscle spasm again until Ichigo finally realized that he was holding his breath.

Thump.

Either from the inexperience or an overflow of anxiety, he stood rigid without any idea of how to proceed. Rukia looked at him with an unreadable expression on her face but did not say anything. Would she yell at him? He thought. Scold him for getting too familiar with her? He couldn't tell for certain.

"Well?" she finally asked, "Are you just going to be standing like this?"

"Shut up…" Ichigo retorted nervously, "I am thinking…"

"That's reeeeeally nice." she drew out sarcastically, "But I'd like an apology."

"You're such a pain." he muttered under his breath, pulling his eyes away from her.

Rukia's scrutinizing stare started to really unnerve him. She just stood there and watched him with her hands on her hips, until he felt his nerves slowly give out. There was no way around this after all.

"Sorry." he finally confessed, his gaze lingering on the wall until he looked at her again.

"Idiot…" Her mouth turned into a grin and she shook her head in exasperation. "You always think too much."

With those words, Rukia turned her back to him and started to move away. But she didn't get far, because a moment later Ichigo took a step forward and impulsively grabbed her arm.

Whether it was this fortunate turn of events, where he avoided getting kicked, or just his usual idiocy, he wasn't sure where this sudden bravery came from when he seized her tiny appendage and just stared as soon as she looked back at him in question.

Rukia watched and waited, then rolled her eyes and came to stand in front of him. "If you have something to say, then say it!"

Ichigo had plenty to say.

He wanted to kiss her. Since he felt her hands on his chest….no….since he watched her wet her lips….no…..since he saw her flushed face when she told him about the party, he wanted to kiss her. And now he was confused and intimidated by her constant jeering. Why couldn't she just give him a break?

"Hey!" He felt her poking him, "Wake up, stupid!"

"Cut the crap, Rukia!" Ichigo yelled jerking her forward.

Rukia promptly shut up looking at him in bewilderment. He looked back, her lips parted, he noticed, she stared, he stared back, and then somehow, without him even realizing it, his hands developed a power of their own and mysteriously found themselves around her waist. In a matter of seconds her face was now only an inch away from his.

"Ichigo…" she breathed against his mouth, finally realizing the extent of their dilemma.

The fact that she did not yell at him, kicked or even frowned gave Ichigo enough reassurance to continue. With newfound confidence, he brought one hand to the back of her head and placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

Rukia stilled and he knew that her mind was working, that brain always analyzed and re-analyzed everything a hundred times over. But this time he hoped that she wouldn't pull away, make a joke, or worse – reject him. He hoped that she maybe possibly wanted it even a….

Her arms slowly came around his neck and he suddenly realized that now it was _her_ initiating it. Then, her mouth was on his again. They stayed, frozen in time, with their lips locked together as Ichigo counted seconds until the kiss would finally be broken. He had never kissed a girl before. And the act itself was rather uneventful, he asserted, considering how much the guys in his class, mainly Keigo, talked about it. Yes, it felt nice, especially having Rukia press against him like this, and the touch of her lips stirred a funny sensation inside, mainly in that place down below. But then again, he was already used to it, particularly after he came to the shocking realization of his feelings for her.

Rukia finally shifted making Ichigo think that the kiss was about to come to an end. But little did he know of what was about to happen next. The kiss did not end. In fact, Ichigo wasn't even sure what was going on. Her lips suddenly parted and forced his mouth to open, slowly sliding her tongue inside. His whole body jerked in alarm at her unexpected action. But the feeling it inspired….his groin twisted in knots, making him squirm in need as he lifted her up more firmly against him.

Her tongue tentatively touched his, rubbing against it as one of her hands cupped his cheek pressing him closer. Ichigo felt…he did not know what he felt. It was nothing like he had ever felt before. His mind roared, feeling, smelling, touching her. His body was numb from the mixture of his swelling desire and mounting emotions. Even in the biggest rush of adrenaline he had ever experienced, this was on a whole different level from everything he had ever known.

From the corner of his eye he saw his bed. Girl, bed, kissing, his mind slowly registered the events in his room. Something had to happen now, he knew it. From what he had seen in the movies, from what the guys told him, something _always_ had to happen. He took one step, then another, and another. Rukia's mouth was still on his, making him feel all kinds of crazy, but he concentrated on walking. One, two, three. And now she was on her back and he was bending over her.

"You don't waste any time, do you?" Rukia smirked incredulously.

Ichigo felt like his heart would jump out of his chest but _she_ just laid there snickering.

"Gimme a break." he finally managed a scowl, "I've never done this before. If you're gonn—" and suddenly stopped, feeling her finger on his mouth.

"Shut up, dummy."

How the hell did she manage to stay so relaxed?

Ichigo's looked down at her until his gaze started to wander from her face to her body, slowly realizing that his hands were gripping her waist from _under_ her blouse. He hesitated for a bit, wondering what she would do, and after concurring that no slapping would take place, gently squeezed it. Rukia shifted a little under his touch then slowly sat up. Wordlessly, she put one arm around his neck while another lingered on his cheek before her lips found his again. They kissed slowly, letting lazy hands roam around each other – hair, shoulders, face, neck, barely noticing that Rukia's top somehow found itself on the floor.

Ichigo stared at the pink lace hugging her breasts, the same suspicious color that was the source of his turmoil ever since he found it in his drawer. But his concentration was swiftly broken as he watched, with his mouth somewhere on the floor, her quickly disposing of the shoes and now running her fingers across the zipper of her jeans.

"Stop staring and help me!" she commanded.

"Huh? What? Why?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

"_Why?" _ She repeated, "What do you think we were going to do right now?"

He swallowed hard. "You mean…." Pause. "You…mean….that you…." Pause. "You mean you want to do _that_?"

Rukia looked at him quizzically. "Don't _you_?"

Hell YES he did! Ichigo wasn't that dense not to notice the heaviness in his groin, his continuous mood swings and the….changes….that occurred every time she was around. But, he never thought that Rukia would so easily agree without him ever having to ask. Actually, he had no idea how to ask at all. Kissing was the first thing he thought about. After that his mind went completely blank.

And now she wasn't helping at all. In a daze, Ichigo saw her jeans fall down, and then she straddled his lap pushing him down on the bed.

Their eyes locked until she finally spoke. "For a hormonally crazed teenager, you don't seem to be very excited about this."

He _was_ excited, dammit! And why did she always have to give him such a hard time?

"I would've been if you weren't such a pain in the ass!" Ichigo retorted shutting his eyes.

A moment of silence, and then he felt wet kisses trailing down his neck, to his collar bone, to his chest. "Ahhh…." a soft sound escaped from him.

Everywhere her mouth touched it burned, everywhere her hands pressed it tingled. And when her hips shifted on his….

Ichigo's thought process came to an abrupt halt as soon as her lips returned to his. The things she was doing were making him crazy, first she….and then she… _Oh!_ This. Was. Driving. Him. Crazy! He tightened his arms around her and rolled her on her back. Rukia gave a tiny moan but did not object pushing his bravado to new levels.

His hands began to roam. He stroked her neck, her shoulders, glided his palms over her breasts, still hiding behind the bra, and ran them down to her stomach. Her muscles trembled below his touch and he was glad. It was nice to know that he wasn't the only one effected.

Ichigo was not a romantic type. He wasn't any type at all. There weren't any special talents that he particularly excelled at except for fighting hollows. Fight and protect – that was his life's philosophy, and everything else came second. But right now he wasn't a warrior. He wasn't a Shinigami, Vizord, or any other entity that lived within him. He was simply Ichigo and he was in love — a difficult and painful acceptance due to the fact that he had no experience with romance or any idea how the object of his affection felt about him.

And now his beloved, instead of tenderly caressing him and purring sweet nothings into his ear, wriggled underneath him and unceremoniously grabbed his belt.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ichigo breathed against her mouth.

"Take off those damn pants." Rukia tagged at the zipper, "They are in the way!"

"What the hell..? I was just about to…"

"Take them off…." she ordered, hastily pulling them down.

Ichigo felt his face burn from the unsolicited exposure. Of all the stupid, inconsiderate….. _ARGH!_

"There!" she declared in satisfaction, "Now get rid of your shoes."

He sighed but complied, then sat down next to her and turned his head away in embarrassment.

"Jeez…you didn't have to be so forceful." he complained somewhat disgruntled.

In return, a gentle ruffling of the sheets caught his attention and he turned his head. Rukia now had her back to him, one hand pulling her hair up.

"Undo it."

Silence.

"What are you waiting for? Undo my bra." She moved closer to him, positioning herself between his thighs.

Ichigo felt his face flush again as he brought his trembling fingers to the straps. A few seconds ticked until he clumsily managed to pull them apart.

They sat for a moment before Rukia took his hands into hers, hesitating somewhat and finally rubbing her thumbs across his palms.

"This isn't exactly what I'm used to either." she said almost reluctantly, "I was always afraid that you…." then stopped as if changing her mind and lifted his hands up.

Her vagueness puzzled him. She was afraid of what? There wasn't much she was ever afraid of. But as soon as his palms touched her chest, he instantly forgot about everything and leaned forward concentrating on what was in front of him.

Ichigo always knew that Rukia was tiny. But now, as he watched his large hands cup her breasts, he finally saw the real difference in their size. She looked so small and fragile next to him, one sudden move and she would surely break.

"Don't over think it." She said, as if reading his thoughts. "And don't get any stupid ideas that you can hurt me."

The side of his mouth twitched at the all too familiar tenacity in her voice. Always sharp and observant, she never missed a thing. Ichigo closed his eyes savoring the moment and lightly rubbing his thumbs across her nipples. He closed his eyes. Everything was fine, he was finally getting a hang of it, and his moment of peace would've lasted longer if he did not notice one of his hands gradually moving downward, over her belly, past her abdomen, into her underwear.

He wasn't sure how it happened. Hell, he wasn't even sure which one of them did it. The only thing for certain was that now his hand collided with something warm and wet. Rukia drew in a sudden breath as his fingers slid in between her soft skin and towards the opening. And that's when Ichigo came to an abrupt stop. Large hands. Tiny Rukia. Large hands. Tiny Rukia. She was strong, he was very much aware of the fact, but this wasn't quite the same as what they did on the battlefield.

"Rukia…" he said quietly, "What if…"

"It feels…..nice…" she whispered.

Ichigo relaxed a little, letting her push his fingers in. She guided his movements with slow and gentle strokes, eventually letting him take the lead. Slide in, slid out, her hips rocked along with him breathing loudly until Ichigo noticed her buttocks rubbing against his…

"Rukia…" he whispered into her ear, putting his free hand around her belly and pressing her harder against to him.

She did not answer, but lifted her hand upwards to caress his cheek in reassurance.

Ichigo did not know what to say. He was mesmerized by the way she felt against him, by the way it felt inside of her. And when she tilted her face upward to kiss him, moaned loudly, and whispered his name, he was already lost in his own burning desire.

They rocked together, as he nuzzled her shoulders, her neck, now bold enough to touch and kiss her without invitation. Rukia did not say a word, but only slightly arched her back against him lost in her own sensation. Everything was nice and quiet again as he heard her soft breaths, and then she sighed audibly and turned to face him.

He watched as she, with one efficient movement, got rid of the last piece of clothing still standing between them and returned to his lap now facing him.

Her hands clasped the base of his neck, bringing tingling kisses to his cheek, nose, mouth, and finally letting her hand glide downward.

Ichigo gasped, Rukia cocked a brow and lifted herself up to promptly push him inside of her, exhaling sharply as his length slid in. Noticing her reaction, he grabbed her waist halting the movements.

"Hey, be careful!"

"Would you stop worrying?"

"I'm not worried!"

"Then relax!"

He obeyed reluctantly, glancing over her body as a few troubled thoughts passed through his mind. The stupid idiot should've been….until she started moving her hips around him…..the stupid idiot…..should've been…..the stupid…_wow_…

His body trembled, his breath quickened, and then his hands suddenly found her hips raising her up and down against him, echoing her movements with his own, feeling something spasm in the pit of his stomach. Ichigo didn't care anymore if she would scowl, yell, or slap him. Everything that she did today left him either in cold sweat or slowly chipped away at his self-control.

He wasn't a lustful person, but rather a simpleminded one who didn't need a lot to be happy. But right now, looking at those narrow hips grounding against him and remembering the feeling she awakened, made him want and imagine and want…

He groaned rolling her on her back and staring down at her baffled expression. Did she even know how she made him feel?

"Ichi-?"

"Shut up."

His mouth was on hers now, not as timid and inexperienced as before, but hungry, hard, and demanding. He would still not call himself lustful, he never was before, but she taught him well tonight. And now the cause of all of this lay underneath him sliding her tongue inside his mouth, moaning in her own pleasure, and making him shiver in this sensation she aroused. Yet, it wasn't enough, and he wanted, no, _needed_ more. Love and desire were new to him. He never thought about them, or felt like this before. And he certainly did not plan to jump so recklessly into this emotional rollercoaster, but now everything that has been piling up for the past several weeks came crushing down. And Ichigo suddenly remembered every short skirt that she wore, every cleavage, every smile, every touch, every single fucking mention of Renji, _everything_ that made him look at her twice and pretend he did not notice. But notice he did, and now he wanted _her_ to notice as well, notice what she did to him.

Rukia moved underneath him making him realize that he was still inside of her. He grabbed her hips and pushed, gently at first, but as soon as he felt her responding he pushed again. She clutched his shoulders pressing him harder against her, and he pushed again. She wrapped her legs around him, and he pushed again. She raised her hips to meet his thrusts, and he pushed again and again.

"You are…..what is…ah….?" Rukia managed in between kisses.

"Nothing." he muttered, reluctant to tell her the awkward truth.

But, hell, she would probably find out anyway. She _always_ figured him out from just one single look, never asking questions, never nagging, just one damn look. And right now, the noticeable oddity in his behavior made it even more obvious. He practically delivered himself to her on a silver platter.

Big violet eyes locked with his without pursuing the question any further and at that moment Ichigo knew that she knew it too. And she damn well should've known by now after all the emotional wreckage she put him through.

Rukia suddenly released a loud moan and squeezed her legs tighter around him. Ichigo looked at her flushed face slowly realizing what has just happened. He was still new to this but he wasn't stupid enough not to know and now it was his turn.

Quickening his pace he raised his body over hers. Rukia sighed and generously moved her hips to meet his. Ichigo saw the blush on her skin, dark bangs seductively sprayed on her forehead, her small breasts fluttering from the shaky breaths. And soon he felt his own climax approaching until he finally exploded inside of her in a fury of passion and zeal of a boy who's just had his first experience with love. Savoring the sensation, feeling the tension seeping from his body, he finally collapsed on the bed besides her.

They lay quietly, not a sound in sight, until Ichigo moved his head to look at her. Rukia was perfectly still. Her eyes were closed, her breathing now steady, not a trace of strain on her face. He frowned. Why so quiet, was she hurting?

"Are you alright?" he asked, concern in his voice.

She opened her eyes. "Of course I'm alright, dummy. Why do you even need to ask?"

"Then, don't just lie there…..like you're in pain or something." he grumbled.

"I was just wondering…" she mused.

"About what?"

"Ah, nothing, it's not important anymore."

Known for his thick headedness and frequent lack of sensitivity, Ichigo was surprisingly acute in his ability to understand her, the rare quality that he did not even want to admit to himself.

_I was always afraid that you…. _ Whatever she was afraid of did not matter as long as it was nothing to her anymore, he decided. Ichigo always hated to see her sad. Ever since his noble quest in Soul Society, he came to the shocking conclusion that he didn't want to rescue her because of some dept or obligation, but for the simple fact that he loved her smile and the peace it brought him. If she was happy, he was happy. It was as simple as that.

"What you said before." He started, almost shyly. "About being afraid….are you still afraid?"

Rukia shook her head and turned on her side to face him. They looked at each other for a few heartbeats until she finally spoke. "So, you kind of like me, huh?"

Great. It was embarrassing enough that she could read him so damn easily. And now she was going to make fun of him too. Way to kill a moment.

Ichigo averted his eyes feeling the old awkwardness returning. How stupid he was for making himself so obvious, of course she was going to either crack a joke or say something condescending. Dumbass. Dumbass. Dumbass.

But instead, Rukia only smiled and lightly touched the lock of hair falling on his forehead.

"It's ok though." she said softly. "Because… I think I like you too."

* * *

~END~


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